Metal rolling can be used for forming metal strips from stock, such as ingots or thicker metal strips. Metal rolling can involve a metal strip (e.g., aluminum or other metal) passing between a pair of work rolls of a mill stand, which apply pressure to reduce the thickness of the metal strip. In some operations, each work roll can be supported by one or more backup rolls, although no backup rolls are used in some operations.
The texture of the work roll can be an important factor in metal rolling. For example, a closely polished, smooth work roll can have difficulty providing sufficient friction to grip the metal strip, whereas an overly-textured work roll can impart undesirable localized stresses and impressions on the metal strip. In some operations, a metal strip can pass through several mill stands, each progressively reducing the thickness of the metal strip. In some cases, the final mill stand can use textured work rolls that impart impressions on the metal strip. In some cases, to avoid undesired impressions on the metal strip, this final mill stand is limited to providing a reduction of thickness of about 5% or less.